Why the Olympus OM-D E-M1 is better than expected for video (Review)

[Tone13]

Why do people come to a site that is primarily discussing film making EQUIPMENT and then go on about 'content is king'.

 

The technical side of film making is also extremely important at telling a story.

[Hitfabryk]

Hello Andrew,

 

Thanks for this..I just got mine (Oly EM1)  today.

 

Regards,

Siep

[Nelson Reyes]

this camera isn`t good for real videographes! not with the new gh4 around the corner. This videos doen`t show the real potencial or problems with this camera. 

[tehgeek]

It has an extreme video look to it. Bummer.

[northutsira]

I wonder how does the E-M10 do since it share the same processor as E-M1, though only 3Axis IS (from video it look pretty stable). No pdaf sensor means no pdaf strip will be shown on specific condition, and at half the price I am much more tempted to get as 2nd camera for handheld

 

I was wondering exactly this too, thanks for posting comparison video. Looks pretty similar. 24 mbs codec too...

[samuel.cabral]

I wonder how does the E-M10 do since it share the same processor as E-M1, though only 3Axis IS (from video it look pretty stable). No pdaf sensor means no pdaf strip will be shown on specific condition, and at half the price I am much more tempted to get as 2nd camera for handheld

 

Sorry Andrew, but i've to insist. I want you to give the EM-10 a try for some reasons:

-The EM-10 shares the processor from the EM-1
-The same codec from the EM-1 (i know... isn't the best reference on codecs world)
-Small form factor (400 grams)
-PRICE! $699 body only (please think like you did on the very beginning of the EOSHD. I have no budget! It's all about indie filmmakers)

-And last but not least... It's not only 3 axis! M-IS (as they call it) already counts with the help of a digital stabilization mode making very similar to 5 axis in video mode.

Worth it? You tell me!
I live in Brazil, we hardly see some Olympus camera here... (The market is floated with Canon trash)

 

[Sanka]

Hi Andrew,

Very nice video and great topic, as usual. I think you offer the most mature and open minded approach in DSLR filmmaking web forum. Highly appreciated!

After years of work with the HVX200 + Letus Ultimate + Nikon lenses (a heavy combination to get a “cinematic†look (see here

[Humza Ismail]

Hi Andrew could you clarify what settings you think work best. I am not sure what picture settings I should use on my E-M1.

 

Thanks for all the great work!

[Ajsdu06]

Lovely review Andrew.
Though, I was a little confused of your recommendations about how to adjust the "in-camera" picture profile. Did you recommend a flat profile or not?
Which profile did you find best? And how would you dial contrast, colour and sharpness?

Thanks again for a lovely review and a very informative site.

[Orangenz]

Very interesting review. I notice the GM1 still ends up higher on your ranking for the month list? I presume the difference is, if you have the tripod/stabalisation sorted then the GM1 is preferable. If it's the run and gun and you need the stabalisation then EM1 can give a better image due to it not being shaken to pieces?

 

Anyways, the confusing bit was when you said

 

"Select ProRes 444 in your Premiere timeline settings and don't edit in native H.264"

 

Now I understand the export in Prores bit, that makes sense, but the edit in prores bit confuses me.

Premiere does not really edit in H.264. It reads the 264 into its own 32bit colour space and "codec" which is superior to pretty much everything. The final render uses the original source files and not the timeline codec unless you also select the "use rendered files" or similar option which I can't see how that would benefit either as that just adds another level of re-compression.

 

That's the theory from Laser Pacific but I haven't sat down and tried it.

 

Edit: http://guruv.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/why-edit-canon-5d-7d-footage-in-premiere-pro/

[iconflyer]

Very interesting review. I notice the GM1 still ends up higher on your ranking for the month list? I presume the difference is, if you have the tripod/stabalisation sorted then the GM1 is preferable. If it's the run and gun and you need the stabalisation then EM1 can give a better image due to it not being shaken to pieces?

 

Anyways, the confusing bit was when you said

 

"Select ProRes 444 in your Premiere timeline settings and don't edit in native H.264"

 

Now I understand the export in Prores bit, that makes sense, but the edit in prores bit confuses me.

Premiere does not really edit in H.264. It reads the 264 into its own 32bit colour space and "codec" which is superior to pretty much everything. The final render uses the original source files and not the timeline codec unless you also select the "use rendered files" or similar option which I can't see how that would benefit either as that just adds another level of re-compression.

 

That's the theory from Laser Pacific but I haven't sat down and tried it.

 

Edit: http://guruv.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/why-edit-canon-5d-7d-footage-in-premiere-pro/

Sorry to dwell on this topic again but I too am confused about the reason for using Prores in the timeline settings. The only way I found it possible to select prores in the timeline setting is for the video previews if the editing mode is set to custom, preview file format is set to quicktime(at least on Mac) then the preview codec can be set to whatever. Are we saying here that in order to really dial in things like grain during the edit process and be able to judge them correctly the recommendation is to set the preview codec to ProRes rather than h264? The only way these settings would affect export is if the "use previews" option is selected in the export window. Is my understanding correct?

[Adam Delor]

I hope that Olympus will make software update with better codec for E-M1

[TJB]

I have a feeling the OMD E-M10 with 3 axis IS will come close to the E-M1 for both stills and video quality as well as effective IS.

This is where marketing works in our favour - the E-M10 is slightly under spec'd and half the price just to fill a marketing gap.

I bet DXO sensor tests will reveal the E-M10 to have very similar stills quality to it's big brother and most likely better than the E-M5.

With the E-M1 processor, video quality may also follow suit.

[pablogrollan]

Hi everyone,

 

I'd also like to know opinions of this camera (regarding video) vs. the Panasonic GX7. It also has IBIS -though not 5 axis- but, is it any good? It uses the same codec AVCHD 24mbit but on 24 fps, has a nice EVF and a lower price point. Is image quality that different?

I suppose the Oly has better stills features but, do you think the EM-1 has video features to justify paying the difference?

 

I'm looking into buying a camera for casual shooting, but I'd like it to feel "off duty" (no rigs, no external recorders, no tripod, not even decent sound is required). I like the BMPCC but with no IBIS, the need for a ton of batteries and media cards, etc make it less attractive. I was thinking about EM-1, GX7, GM1 or EM-10... as these cameras are "pocketable" with decent picture quality in spite of the codec. Do you see any of these with a clear advantage video-wise?

Thanks!

[TJB]

"I'd also like to know opinions of this camera (regarding video) vs. the Panasonic GX7. It also has IBIS -though not 5 axis- but, is it any good?"

 

Unfortunately the GX7 doesn't have IBIS in video mode. Many have reported that the GX7 video quality is indistinguishable from the GH3.

I, amongst others I'm sure, are interested in a test/review from Andrew on the GX7.

Also, there is very little difference in stills quality between all of the cameras you mentioned.

[pablogrollan]

Thanks TBJ. I'd like to see Andrew's GX7 test, too.

 

No IBIS in GX7 video mode? Bummer. Since the GM1 is said to offer pretty much the same (in terms of video), that means that it's only real andvantage over the GM1 is the tilting EVF, which is cool, but not sure worth the money...

 

I'm really liking the EM-1 but find hard to justify 2K € on a "leisure" camera -personally- considering our jobs are often money blackholes rather than money pits when it comes to keeping up to date... Guess I'll have to wait until the EM-10 is properly tested (or shut up and spend close to 2000€ after adding speedbooster).

[Hitfabryk]

Will the quality be a little better when I use a shutter time of 1/60..I know that in 'our' Pal area in some situation's (against flickering) 1/50 shutter time is a good solution but if there is a situation where the flickering is abcent, is it better to use 1/60? Any thoughts?

 

thanks

Siep

[pablogrollan]

If shooting 30p, I'd use 1/60 (180º shutter angle equivalent) unless flickering suggests otherwise.

 

Having said that, the only reason behind the shutter angle rule is that the footage has a natural motion blur, and by "natural" I mean what our eyes are used to seeing on the screen. A very high shutter speed (1/300) will produce a staccato effect with hardly any motion blur, desirable sometimes for aesthetic reasons (remember Saving Private Ryan?). A very low shutter angle (1/30) will produce a very "creamy" image with too much motion blur, almost ghosting (moslty undesirable).

 

Between 1/50 and 1/60 at 30fps there won't be a great difference... 

[Arturo Chu]

Andrew how do you reccomend to export from premiere for vimeo in a windows pc with some effects in the timeline including filmconvert? Theres no prores in windows :(

[pietz]

what i dont understand to this very day:

 

Panasonics m43 approach has always been listening to video people and creating hybrid cams. Olympus on the other hand has always only focused on stills. so how exactly does Panasonic dare to sell a GX7 with the stabilization disabled in video mode? Olympus doesnt give a rats ass about video and they decided to just enable it. that means it really cant be that hard. even on the budget EM10 which comes with the same kind of stabilization the GX7 has.

 

if i were somebody to make any m43 regarding decisions at Olympus I would just add 24fps in video. done. absolutely amazing camera. and it really cant be that hard to tell a camera to record 24 instead of 30 pictures per second. those lazy asses couldve at least added 25fps for PAL customers. would have been good.

 

Panasonic is really close to fucking up big time and they re certainly setting their priorities wrong. i would trade 4K for IBIS any day of the week and seeing how good the 24mbit codec of the G6 is, i dont need 70mbit bitrates to begin with.

 

Olympus is better for stills in every possible way and Panasonic have a hand full of things giving an edge on video. To take Olympus on par regarding video cannot be a lot of work. why not do it?